Prediabetes is associated with the modulation of antigen-specific Th1/Tc1 and Th17/Tc17 responses in latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with the down modulation of Th1, Th2 and Th17 responses in latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection but the role of prediabetes (PDM) in this setting is not well understood. To examine the role of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell cytokines in latent tuberculosis (LTB) with coincident PDM, we studied the baseline, mycobacterial, control antigen and mitogen–stimulated T cell cytokine responses in LTB individuals with (LTB-PDM; n = 20) or without (LTB-NDM; n = 20) concomitant prediabetes. LTB-PDM is characterized by diminished frequencies of mono–and dual–functional CD4(+) Th1 and Th17 cells and mono-functional Th2 cells at baseline and/or following mycobacterial—antigen stimulation in comparison to LTB-NDM. LTB-PDM is also characterized by diminished frequencies of mono–functional CD8(+) Tc1, Tc2 and Tc17 cells at baseline and/or following mycobacterial–antigen stimulation in comparison to LTB-NDM. LTB-PDM is therefore characterized by diminished frequencies of antigen–specific Th1/Tc1 and Th17/Tc17 cells, indicating that PDM is associated with alterations of the immune response in latent TB associated with compromised CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell function.